Too Late
by Riana Mustang
Summary: AU ending-type-thing to Test of Faith. What would have happened if Qui-Gon had been too late rescuing Rehteah, and Xanatos had done more damage to her than they thought? Rehteah takes a sudden turn for the worst and Qui-Gon may lose his apprentice forever


Too Late  
  
Authoress: Aisling Kaiba  
  
Aisling: I'm back.  
  
Yami: Oh, dear Ra, not again.  
  
Ryou: Yami, be nice to her.  
  
Aisling: Yeah, besides, you're not even in this one, so I don't see why you're complaining.  
  
Yami: *Stares at her like 'You have GOT to be kidding me'*  
  
Bluefire: Yami, be nice.  
  
Yami: *Grumbling* Yes, dear.   
  
Aisling: Ha! I knew it! That bit even gets the Pharaoh! Cute! *Pointedly ignores Yami's death glare* Can someone do the disclaimer for me? Please?  
  
Rishid: Mistress Aisling does not own Star Wars, but anything original is hers.  
  
Aisling: Arigatou, Rishi-chan! In other words, oh rabid lawyers, I no own, go bite yourselves. This is just a sad little one-shot A/U to my Test of Faith story, brought on by a weird plot bunny and my own lousy mood. Warnings: Angst, *oc* character death. You might need a tissue. No one flame me for this, and for the person who reviewed my Test of Faith story, I did *not* try to copy whoever's story you claim I did, and I *really* do not appreciate such an accusation. That's all I'm going to say. Anyway, on with the fic!  
  
**********************  
  
'Hang on, Padawan. You're safe now. Everything is going to be just fine.'  
  
Those had been the last words Qui-Gon had spoken to his apprentice, Rehteah Lumarin, before she had lapsed into complete unconsciousness. He sat by her bedside in the Healer's wing, keeping a constant vigil over the delicate girl. She had been scheduled to be released that morning, but something had gone terribly wrong, and she had taken a sudden turn for the worst. She was running an extremely high fever, and for a while, she had been delirious, muttering fearfully in her sleep as she tossed and turned restlessly.   
  
Rehteah's boyfriend, Garin, had come by for a few hours earlier, but he had had to leave about an hour ago, though he hadn't wanted to leave her side. He had gotten the strangest feeling that Rehteah would not make it through the night, though he hadn't mentioned it to Qui-Gon. The Jedi Master had sensed his worry, though, and had sent him on his reluctant way with the reassurance that Rehteah would be all right and that he would let Garin know when she woke up.  
  
Qui-Gon shook himself mentally and stood up, moving over to the small sink at the other side of the small room. Turning on the cold water, he dampened a cloth, shut the water off again and moved back to Rehteah's side. He placed the cool cloth gently on her forehead, hoping it would bring down her fever. It had gotten dangerously high, and if it wasn't broken soon, he would lose her.   
  
"Rehteah? Can you hear me, little one?" he said softly.  
  
He got no response from the comatose girl. He decided to continue talking to her though, hoping against all hope that it would help in any way at all, even though he knew the odds of her surviving this, much less even waking up from her coma were slim to none, really.   
  
No, she had to come out of this alive. He didn't want to lose her. He couldn't. But he was helpless to do anything, and it was not something the Jedi Master was accustomed to. Not if he had any say in the matter, anyway. But this was out of his hands. He could only sit by and wait and hope that she would be all right.  
  
He reached out tentatively along their slowly-fading bond, hoping to get a response from her that way, but it was no use. She was slipping farther and farther away from him, and he could do nothing to stop it. He was surprised when he felt tears of frustration building up in his cobalt blue eyes. He hurriedly reached up and wiped them away.  
  
Suddenly he heard a soft, agonized moan coming from Rehteah. He took her smaller hand in his and gently pushed a few loose strands of her coppery-red hair away from her ghostly pale face. Relief flitted across his face as Rehteah's blue-gray eyes fluttered open and she glanced up at him. She offered a weak smile as she tried to sit up, but Qui-Gon was having none of it. He gently pushed her back down into the pillow beneath her.  
  
"Don't move, little one, save your strength. How do you feel?" Qui-Gon asked, his voice filled with obvious concern.  
  
"Master?" she whispered.  
  
"Shh, it's all right, Rehteah. I'm here, you're safe now. You're going to be just fine," he said.  
  
Offering him a sad smile, she shook her head once, the movement making her hair splay out around her on the pillow like a fiery halo. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly and hissed as a sharp pain shot through her body like liquid fire. Once it had faded, she relaxed and looked back up at Qui-Gon.  
  
"No, Master. I don't think I'm going to make it this time. I'm sorry, please, forgive me," she said.  
  
"Rehteah, don't talk like that. Of course you're going to be all right," Qui-Gon said, his tone laced with desperation.  
  
"I...wasn't...strong enough...Master. Xanatos was too powerful. I tried to stop him, but I couldn't. I'm sorry," Reahteah replied.   
  
Her breathing had become shallow and labored, a bit too much so for Qui-Gon's liking. She seemed to be in a lot of pain, but surely Fate would not take her from him. He wanted only to help ease her pain, but he didn't know how.   
  
"Little one, you have nothing to be sorry for."  
  
Rehteah sighed gratefully, her once shimmering eyes now starting to become glazed over as she felt herself slipping away. "Thank you, Master. Tell Garin good-bye for me, and that I love him," she said, her voice getting quieter now.   
  
"Padawan..."  
  
"Forgive me. I love you, father," she whispered.  
  
Then her eyes closed for the last time as her spirit flew from her body. Their mind-link shattered, and Qui-Gon cried out in pain and sorrow. Rehteah was dead. For just a brief moment, her spirit appeared in the room, waving her hand in a gesture of farewell. A beautiful smile graced her lips, as if to say, "I'm not in anymore pain. Please, don't cry for me." Then her shimmering form disappeared in a light mist that seemed to come from out of nowhere, vanishing as if she had never even been there, as though she had never even existed.  
  
Tears slid down Qui-Gon's face, but he didn't even notice. He was in shock. How could this have happened? She had been fine last night, but now she was gone forever. He leaned down and placed a fatherly kiss on her forehead. Her skin had already turned cold in death, and he shivered. He was only vaguely aware of being ushered out of the room by a sympathetic doctor, and after that, everything seemed to be nothing more than a blur to him.  
  
Two days later, he stood in front of a funeral pyre, surrounded by the Council, and Rehteah's closest friends and their Masters. He watched distantly as the flames consumed his dead apprentice, unable to tear his eyes away, no matter how much he wanted to. He didn't want to see her like this, he wanted to remember her as she was when she was alive.   
  
Next to him, Garin and Rehteah's best friend, Crystiana, held tightly to each other, both crying over the loss of Rehteah. He tried to block out the heart-wrenching sound, but it seemed impossible in his grief-stricken state. He was startled out of his daze when he felt something tap lightly against his leg, and he glanced down to see Master Yoda staring up at him sympathetically.  
  
"At peace now, she is, Qui-Gon. Always tragic, is the loss of one so young, but there was nothing you could have done, nothing anyone could have done. But you must not blame yourself. Caught and brought to justice, Xanatos will be," Yoda said quietly.  
  
Qui-Gon resisted the sudden urge to snap that it was a little late now, and merely nodded, not trusting his own voice. Yoda sighed and turned his attention back to the pyre, every now and then glancing at Qui-Gon sympathetically. Not that Qui-Gon even noticed.  
  
As the flames slowly started to die out, those gathered in the chamber slowly began to filter out, finally leaving Qui-Gon alone as the last of the flames flickered into nothing more than a few sparking embers. He stepped forward and took Rehteah's braid from the folds of his robe, laying it down gently on the ashes that were all that remained of her now.   
  
"Good-bye, little one," he whispered.  
  
Then he turned and left the room as well, heading back to their...no, his...apartment. He pointedly ignored the pitying looks he got from passers-by. A few minutes later, he reached the apartment, put in the door code and slipped inside, shutting the door behind him. Still in a daze, he wandered into Rehteah's room and just stood in the doorway, looking around at the small room, the deceased girl's few belongings staring back at him almost mockingly it seemed. Everything had been left just the way it was before they had left on that fateful mission.  
  
He moved over to her bed and sat down, burying his head in his hands. Suddenly he noticed a soft, blue glow that seemed to brighten the darkened room, and he glanced upwards, startled to see Rehteah's spirit hovering in front of him.  
  
"Master, I cannot stay long, but I wanted to thank you for everything you've done for me. Do not blame yourself for my death, it was not your fault," she said quietly, placing her hand against the side of his face. "Please, don't cry for me. Mourn for me if you must, but promise me you'll move on someday. I'll never forget you, Master."  
  
"Nor I, you, Padawan," Qui-Gon said softly.  
  
"I have to go now. Good-bye," she said, and vanished again into thin air, leaving him alone in the silence.  
  
"Good-bye, Rehteah."  
  
*El fin*   
  
Well, what do you think of it? Don't ask what spawned this idea. This isn't a sequel to Test of Faith, it's more of a 'what if?' kind of thing. I usually don't have the heart to kill off any of the characters, or at least not permanently, anyway. I was having writer's block on some of my other stories, so I decided to write this sad, angsty thing. Please don't flame me for this. I put my heart and soul into this, and it really hurts when someone decides to mindlessly flame stuff like this. Oh, and about the part where she called him father, he's really the closest thing to family she's ever had, so he's pretty much like a father to her, thus her calling him that. Well, I'm gonna shut up now, b/c I'm not feeling good, and I'm probably going to sleep soon, so, please, R&R!!! Ja ne!  
  
*Aisling Kaiba, a.k.a. Ryou's Tenshi* 


End file.
